Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-04-25
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, April 25, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PASOK RECEIVES VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN PARLIAMENT
[02] CULTURE MINISTER ALLAYS FEARS OVER 2004 OLYMPICS
[03] B of G ANNUAL REPORT URGES TIGHTER FISCAL POLICY
[04] CYPRIOT FM MEETS WITH PAPANDREOU TOMORROW
[05] GEOTECHNICAL CHAMBER HOLDS BALKAN CONFERENCE
[06] CORFU PACIFISTS PROTEST AGAINST US "EISENHOWER"
[07] BIG LOSSES AT THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[08] POST-GRADUATE STUDIES IN GREECE FOR FYROM STUDENTS
[09] RUSSIAN BALLET STARS IN THESSALONIKI
[10] PANGALOS ON THE 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES
[11] CHERNOBYL: REACTOR No3 IS LIKELY TO BE SHUT DOWN THIS YEAR
[12] REPPAS: THE GREEK GOVERNMENT IS NOT INVOLVED IN YUGOSLAVIA'S
INTERNAL AFFAIRS
[13] REPPAS ON THE CEM AND KIVRIKOGLU STATEMENTS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[14] GREEK AMBASSADOR OPTIMISTIC ON G/T RELATIONS
[15] GREEK-CYPRIOT BOY HAS BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT
[16] FYROM RAISES AGAIN A MINORITY ISSUE IN GREECE
[17] SOFIA: THE BARBED WIRE AT THE BORDERS IS BEING REMOVED
[18] NEW OUTPOST AT THE GREEK-ALBANIAN BORDERS
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PASOK RECEIVES VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN PARLIAMENT
The ruling PASOK party received a vote of confidence late
last night, during a roll call vote in the 300-member Parliament,
with 157 for and 141 against, as two deputies of the House were
absent.
Concluding a two-day debate over PASOK's policy statement for
its new four-year term, Prime Minister and ruling party leader
Costas Simitis stressed that his aim will be to establish a
progressive governance of the country, with specific goals toward
reliable, effective and transparent actions.
He added that this governance will be socially sensitive, "a
governance of freedom and solidarity, a governance of
participation, a governance along with the civil society."
Mr. Simitis accused the main opposition party, New
Democracy, of reiterating its neo-liberal beliefs, according to
which the market is the regulator of social developments, even in
sectors such as health and education.
Furthermore, the Premier accused New Democracy of being more
interested in gaining votes and cultivating confrontation,
continual negativity and conscious overstatements."
[02] CULTURE MINISTER ALLAYS FEARS OVER 2004 OLYMPICS
While acknowledging that the organization of the Olympic
Games has never before been undertaken by a country as small as
Greece, in terms of its economic and population sizes, Culture
Minister Theodoros Pangalos assured the Parliament yesterday that
the 2004 feat will be an immensely successful one.
During his parliamentary address last night, Mr. Pangalos
cogently outlined the benefits and gains to be derived from the
Games, such as the creation of 150,000 jobs, the 1.5%
contribution to the state's annual growth rate, the
infrastructural boost, and, last but not least, the dissemination
of the Olympic spirit to the country's youth.
Referring to the castigating report by the chairman of the
International Olympic Committee Juan Antonio Samaranch, who last
week stated that the Athens 2004 summer games would be in "danger"
unless the Greek organizers made "drastic" changes by the end of
the year, Mr. Pangalos announced that an informal cross-party
committee will be set up to monitor the course of the works for
the 2004 Olympic Games and underlined that Athens will strictly
observe the timetable for the Games.
[03] B of G ANNUAL REPORT URGES TIGHTER FISCAL POLICY
The governor of the Bank of Greece Lukas Papadimos asks for a
tighter fiscal policy, in the financial institution's annual
report which was unveiled today.
Specifically, Mr. Papademos calls for the acceleration of
infrastructure changes in the economy, as well as the economic
policy's re-orientation with the aim to obtain stabilization of
price. Furthermore, the governor calls for the speeding up of the
privatization process, reforms in the insurance sector and
flexibility in the job market.
[04] CYPRIOT FM MEETS WITH PAPANDREOU TOMORROW
Cypriot foreign minister Yannakis Kasoulidis is expected in
Athens tomorrow for talks with his Greek counterpart George
Papandreou.
Cypriot government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said that
the forthcoming meeting in the United States between the Foreign
Ministers of Greece and Turkey, George Papandreou and Ismail Cem
respectively, is important, noting that the Greek-Cypriot side
hopes Ankara will be convinced to change its intransigent position
and persuade the Turkish Cypriot side to enter substantive talks.
In his statements, the Cypriot minister underlined that
Cyprus would never accept Turkey's stands about the recognition of
two states, or an acceptance of two state entities and a
confederation.
Meanwhile, Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides will meet with
Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis in Athens on May 19, in view
of the third round of proximity talks on Cyprus, scheduled to open
in New York on May 23.
[05] GEOTECHNICAL CHAMBER HOLDS BALKAN CONFERENCE
The Geotechnical Chamber of Greece section in eastern
Macedonia is organizing a Balkan conference in Kavala tomorrow.
The conference will be attended by representatives from
Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, Romania, Turkey and countries of the
European Union.
[06] CORFU PACIFISTS PROTEST AGAINST US "EISENHOWER"
A group of protesters, members of the Peace Committee which
is affiliated with the Communist Party of Greece, attempted to
break through the police barricade at the port of Corfu last night
demanding the departure of the USS warship "Eisenhower" off of the
island's coast.
Shouting slogans against the United States and NATO, the
protesters closed in on the strong police force, although no one
was injured or arrested.
[07] BIG LOSSES AT THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
The Athens Stock Exchange had losses of 3.17% today and
closed at 4.224,45 points, while the volume of transactions was 97
billion drachmas.
According to stock market circles, the positive speculation
expressed in the Athens Stock Exchange concerning the measures
that were announced by the Capital Market Committee, proved to be
not enough to create a positive movement of the stock prices.
[08] POST-GRADUATE STUDIES IN GREECE FOR FYROM STUDENTS
The University of Athens offers 5 positions for post-graduate
studies and 3 positions for visiting professors from FYROM within
the framework of the cooperation agreement among the universities
of the south-eastern European countries.
According to the newspaper "Dnevnik", the candidate post-
graduate students from Cyrill and Methodius University in Skopje
will be tested in history, sociology and culture on May 29.
[09] RUSSIAN BALLET STARS IN THESSALONIKI
Fifteen Russian ballet stars from the world famous Bolsoi,
Kirov and Stanislavski ballet theaters will be in Thessaloniki for
two performances on May 20 and 21.
The prize winning soloists of the world famous Russian
ballets will present some of the most beautiful works of the
classical repertoire performing parts from "Zizel", "Carnival in
Venice", "Esmeralda", "The Swan Lake", "The Sleeping Beauty", "The
Russian woman", "Romeo and Juliette", "Night dances", "Carmen",
"Duet" and "Korsar".
[10] PANGALOS ON THE 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES
Greek culture minister Theodoros Pangalos in a press
conference he gave in Athens today expressed the belief that
International Olympic Committee, IOC, president Juan Antonio
Samaranch had to ring a warning bell on the 2004 Olympic Games in
order for the preparation work to become more intense.
Mr. Pangalos stated that in the beginning there was a period
of excitement but now the pace must become more intense in order
for Greece to be ready in 2004. He also explained that the next
government step is the establishment of a new ministerial
committee, stressing that the establishment of an Olympic Games
ministry is not necessary.
Mr. Pangalos also stated that in the next few days he will go
to Brussels and will have the opportunity to meet with the IOC
vice-president to discuss the way the 2004 Olympic Games will be
organized.
[11] CHERNOBYL: REACTOR No3 IS LIKELY TO BE SHUT DOWN THIS YEAR
Fourteen years after the nuclear accident in Chernobyl
tomorrow and the radiation pollution risk still exists as the
protective sarcophagus covering the radiation elements gradually
becomes weaker.
Nuclear physics professor in Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki Kostas Papastephanou stated to MPA that the
construction of a new cover had been suggested since 1996, adding
that its cost was estimated to be at US$400 million and if the
project materialize it will offer security for the next 50 years.
The construction cost of the protective shell is extremely
high for the Ukraine and expects funding from the EU and the G-7.
Mr. Papastephanou stressed that the International Atomic
Energy Committee and the European Nuclear Scientists Association
hope that reactor No3 will be shut down this year. Reactors No 1
and No2 have already been dismantled, while reactor No4, where the
accident took place in 1986, is out of operation.
[12] REPPAS: THE GREEK GOVERNMENT IS NOT INVOLVED IN YUGOSLAVIA'S
INTERNAL AFFAIRS
The Greek government is not involved in the internal affairs
of Yugoslavia, stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas,
commenting on the demarche made by the Yugoslav foreign ministry
to the Greek ambassador to Belgrade concerning the meeting of
opposition Yugoslav officials in Athens. Mr. Reppas stressed that
Greece had no involvement whatsoever in the organizing of the
meeting.
Regarding the statements made by Kosovo bishop Artemios, Mr.
Reppas stated that the Church of Kosovo plays a significant role
because it makes an effort to keep the Serb population in the
province. He reiterated that Greece's relations with every side in
Yugoslavia are honest cooperation relations aimed at reaching a
solution toward the democratic developments in Yugoslavia.
[13] REPPAS ON THE CEM AND KIVRIKOGLU STATEMENTS
There is only one issue in the Aegean and that is the
continental shelf, stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris
Reppas, when asked to comment on the statements made by Turkish
foreign minister Ismail Cem and Turkish armed forces chief Hussein
Kivrikoglu.
The Greek government spokesman stated that Turkey has
undertaken commitments with the Helsinki decision and added that
the issues between countries must be handled through peaceful
procedures without the use of violence or the threat for the use
of violence. He also stated that if Turkey believes that there are
problems it can appeal to the International Court of Justice in
The Hague.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[14] GREEK AMBASSADOR OPTIMISTIC ON G/T RELATIONS
Greece's Ambassador to Ankara Ioannis Corantis is certain
that Greece and Turkey can achieve everything together.
Addressing a conference titled "Turkish-Greek Friendship",
Mr. Corantis stated that "we should know where we are on Cyprus
and Turkey's entrance to the European Union without thinking of
the past."
As the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported, he added that
the two neighbors enjoyed peaceful years recently and noted that
everybody understood in the end that it was possible to realize
beauties and positive things.
The Ambassador said Greece's positive response to Turkey's EU
candidacy proved the mutual confidence between the two countries.
[15] GREEK-CYPRIOT BOY HAS BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT
Six-year-old Andreas Vassiliou, a Cypriot leukemia sufferer
yesterday underwent a bone marrow transplant in Houston, Texas,
yesterday.
The youngster traveled to the United States at the start of
the month to undergo preparatory treatment for the operation. A
fully compatible bone marrow donor was not found despite a large-
scale search. Doctors said he has a 50 percent chance of
recovering.
His parents' emotional appeal for a bone marrow donor
prompted 50,000 people in Cyprus and Greece to give blood samples
for compatibility testing and appear to have brought Greek-
Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots closer on the divided island.
[16] FYROM RAISES AGAIN A MINORITY ISSUE IN GREECE
The issue of the so-called "macedonian" minority in Greece
was raised by FYROM immigration minister Martin Trenevski in the
meeting he had in Skopje with Euro-deputy and Germany's Pan-
European Association president Berd Poselt.
According to the mass media in Skopje, Trenevski briefed the
German Euro-deputy on the alleged "flight" from Greece of the so-
called "macedonians" during the civil war in the country, pointing
out that in the last 50 years the Greek legislation bars them from
returning to their homes or even visit them.
The FYROM immigration minister briefed the German Euro-deputy
on the special government report concerning the state of the so-
called "macedonian" minority in the neighboring countries, while
OSCE commissioner responsible for ethnic minorities' issues Max
Van Der Stool has already been informed.
[17] SOFIA: THE BARBED WIRE AT THE BORDERS IS BEING REMOVED
Bulgaria began removing the barbed wire, while it has
disconnected the protection electronic systems along the borders
with Greece in the region of the village of Godesevo at the Gotse
Deltsev community.
By the end of 1999, Bulgaria had removed a total of 3.500
meters of barbed wire at its borders with FYROM, while the
procedure continues at the regions of Petric and Gotse Deltsev at
the borders with Greece and is expected to be completed by the end
of 2001.
The border checks will be reinforced through the use of
technical means by the border police.
[18] NEW OUTPOST AT THE GREEK-ALBANIAN BORDERS
The border outpost of Kosovica at the Greek-Albanian borders
is expected to reopen next month.
The outpost of Kosovica is regarded as one of the most
important points at the Greek-Albanian borders, stated to the
Albanian newspaper "Koha Yone" a high ranking officer of the
Albanian army.
The Albanian army officer stated that the basic goal is to
avert the illegal immigrants from Albania to enter Greece and
intensify the border checks aimed at limiting the illegal
trafficking of arms and drugs.
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